Personnel Dept. Newsletter

Political reporter Ron Brownstein, who has been on book leave from the L.A. Times, is joining the newspaper's opinion division to write a weekly column and longer pieces for Current, the weekend section, and for the website.

Publisher David Hiller said Brownstein's "mastery of both politics and policy, and his gift for taking the news of the day and framing it in a broader context, make Ron a natural columnist." This fall, Brownstein is releasing "The Second Civil War: How Extreme Partisanship Has Paralyzed Washington and Polarized America," published by Penguin Books. Former President Bill Clinton singled Brownstein out as the one reporter he respected the most in Washington D.C.

Other staff changes:

• Peter Ragone, the embattled press secretary to S.F. Mayor Gavin Newsom, is moving from his city job to the mayor's re-election campaign. Ragone (pictured right) recently admitted posting favorable items about Newsom on blogs under different names. Nathan Ballard will start as the mayor's new press secretary on March 5. Ragone, reached by the Chronicle last night, said about his new job: "It's now getting to be campaign season, and I always get drafted.''


• Darius Anderson, the political and business consultant who was chief fundraiser for Gov. Gray Davis, has been hired as the Northern California finance chairman for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who is running for president. The well-connected Anderson also served as best man in the commitment ceremony for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's chief of staff, Susan Kennedy.

(Photos: AP file; Cindy Chew / The Examiner via AP)